Cannibal Holocaust

Cannibal Holocaust is an infamous and provocative Italian horror film that was released in 1980. Directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Gianfranco Clerici, it was a movie that ushered in a new wave of visceral and raw cinematic experiences. The graphic content presented in Cannibal Holocaust became the subject of widespread debate and legal action, contributing to its grim reputation and cult status. The film features Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, and Perry Pirkanen in the main roles, creating a set of performances that are both captivating and deeply distressing.

The film focuses on the notion of civilized versus uncivilized societies, exploring it through a narrative that juxtaposes the modern world with the primitive. This narrative unfolds through the lens of a film crew gone missing in the uncharted territories of the Amazon rainforest, while pursuing a documentary about cannibalistic tribes native to the region.

Robert Kerman portrays Harold Munroe, an anthropologist from New York University commissioned by the television studio that funded the missing crew's trip to lead a rescue mission. Kerman's portrayal is heartfelt and human in a movie where humanity is frequently questioned. Francesca Ciardi and Perry Pirkanen, along with Gabriel Yorke and Luca Barbareschi, play the roles of the missing crew members. Their performances, flashbacks, and found-footage style of storytelling provide a raw, unsettling, and intense visual experience for the viewer, a defining feature of this movie.

Cannibal Holocaust is graphically violent, and the realistic depiction of violence portrayed was so convincing that it led to the director being charged with obscenity and later, murder charges in Italy, as people believed the actors were actually killed on camera. Although the charges were dropped after Deodato had the actors appear in court alive and well, this level of realism was achieved through an innovative filmmaking approach that later came to be known as "found footage", making Cannibal Holocaust a pioneer of this genre.

The film cleverly utilizes the found footage style, introducing it as a documentary film made by the missing crew that is recuperated by Munroe during his rescue mission. Through this device, Cannibal Holocaust allows its audience to delve into the disturbingly real experiences of the crew as they navigate their way through the Amazon, encountering tribes whose ways of life are catastrophically misunderstood by the crew.

This leads the film to present a critique of media and the exploitative aspects of documentary filmmaking, where the lines between observer and participant are blurred, and ethical boundaries are crossed in search of sensationalism. As such, the movie raises questions about the morality of both the filmmakers and their subjects, providing a dialectic view of the civilised and the primitive, and prompting a broader dialogue about the footprint of modern societies on indigenous cultures.

The narrative is not the only aspect of Cannibal Holocaust that is hard to digest. The film incorporates intense visual and auditory elements that create a distressing atmosphere. Riz Ortolani’s haunting score, oscillating between serene melodies and heart-pounding tribal beats, makes for a startling contrast to the film's inhumane content. Further ignited by graphic imagery, the film's audio-visual aspects combine to deliver a severe sensory experience that is as arresting as it is harrowing.

While Cannibal Holocaust is decidedly not for everyone, it's impossible to deny its remarkable impact on the horror genre and its ongoing influence on contemporary cinema. Deodato’s film was a precursor to the found-footage genre, foreseeing the trend that was popularized years later with films such as The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

In its essence, Cannibal Holocaust is not simply a gore film. It stimulates thought and debate on media ethics and portrayal, modern society's impact on indigenous cultures, and the limits of realism in cinematic portrayal. It also discusses the human tendency towards violence and explores the inherent monstrosity beneath the veneer of a civilized society. This is a movie that horrifies not just through its imagery, but also through its implications about the modern world and its boundaries. This makes Cannibal Holocaust a horror classic, and despite its controversy, it has made its mark as a significant entry in the annals of cinema.